Iraq

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH has been implementing projects and programmes in Iraq on behalf of the German Government since 2011. The first of these initiatives assisted the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil and the central government in Baghdad to improve the quality of training and promote dialogue with the business community.

Project data

Iraq

Since the start of the crisis in Syria in 2011 and the advance of so-called Islamic State (IS), more than three million Iraqis have been displaced within their own country. There are also around 250,000 Syrian refugees in Iraq, mainly in the autonomous Kurdistan Region in the north of the country. At the end of 2016, more than 11 million people were reliant on humanitarian aid. The armed conflict has destroyed much of the infrastructure, including the water supply network and power grid.

Since 2014, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ has been working with municipalities in Northern Iraq to provide support for displaced persons and refugees and improve living conditions for these groups and host communities. The influx of large numbers of people places additional burdens on the local infrastructure and administrations. The municipal authorities must establish new systems for the provision of public services, mainly health care, a water supply and education. Since 2016, GIZ has been implementing five projects which improve the delivery of essential services and provide vocational training and cash for work, giving people an opportunity to earn an income again and to secure and restore their livelihoods.

On behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office (AA), GIZ is supporting the efforts being made by the Iraqi Government to stabilise areas of Central Iraq that have been liberated from IS control. Rebuilding the infrastructure is essential in improving local living conditions, so GIZ is assisting the Iraqi Government to plan and implement relevant projects and improve donor coordination.